Research projects

The Khaudum-Ngamiland to the Okavango Delta landscape constitutes one of the five Wildlife Dispersal Areas of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. It includes several of western Ngamiland's landuse concessions from NG2-NG9 in NW District Botswana and the Khaudum National Park and the NyaeNyae Conservancy in NE Namibia.

As ambush predators, lions and leopards rely on stalking and surprise, so being seen by their prey usually means they abandon their hunt. The i-cow project tests whether tapping into this response - by painting eye patterns onto cattle backsides - can reduce livestock losses and retaliatory killing of carnivores. If successful, this inexpensive tool will help to safeguard large carnivores and livelihoods alike.

The Okavango Delta is one of the last strongholds for the African wild dog and this population likely acts as a source population for the re-colonization of surrounding regions. Consequently understanding the mechanisms and patterns of wild dog dispersal are fundamental for the management and conservation of the species.

This research aims to investigate how lions use a range of acoustic and olfactory signals to facilitate the social interactions necessary to maintain a viable lion population. This information may also inform efforts to reduce conflict.

This research aims to investigate how leopard space use (specifically amongst territorial males) is mediated by their inter and intraspecific competitors and so establish whether audio or scent cues could be used to manipulate leopard movements for conservation purposes

This research aims to investigate the roles of individual behavior, interspecific interactions and changes in the physical environment (e.g. changing water levels) on African wild dog movement to determine whether incorporating such dynamic processes in movement modeling improves our ability to describe the patterns of observed movement and thus advance the scientific basis of methods used in conservation planning.